


The Scientific Method

by goldenretrievers46



Category: Fine Brothers Entertainment, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Break Up, Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Making Out, Mutual Pining, Pining, Starbucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-05-25 08:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14973158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenretrievers46/pseuds/goldenretrievers46
Summary: Tom comforts Eric after a bad breakup, leaving them both confused about their feelings. Six months later, Mikaela encourages Eric sort out his feelings for Tom via an experiment.





	1. Purpose

**Author's Note:**

> Hi it’s Hannah here! I’ve got an FBE fic here featuring everyone’s favorite ship, Teric! A disclaimer- there is an OC here named Kimmie who’s definitely antagonistic. If there is a Kimmie who is associated with Tom and/or Eric in anyway, this character is not based on her! It is simply a name I used for a character of my imagination. 
> 
> Anyways, the general prompt is based on the “exposing the teens react cast” video where Eric reveals that he broke up with a girlfriend and then his car broke down and he was towed. So I kind of ran with that.   
> Hope you enjoy!  
> -Hannah

I walked out to my car after a long day of work at FBE. Although my work as a part of the community team was extremely enjoyable, it could also be exhausting. Today had been one of those mentally tiring days. I just wanted to go home and curl up on my couch while eating delivery pizza and watching a shitty horror movie. But as you may have noticed, I said the word want for a reason. Spoiler alert: it didn’t happen. Two hours after work ended, I made myself a cup of green tea and sat on my couch, scrolling through my phone absentmindedly. Suddenly, my phone’s ringer began to blare. I started, nearly spilling my tea, but immediately answered the call which was from none other than my best friend, Eric Beckerman. 

“Hey, Eric. What’s up?” I answered cheerfully, with a hint of annoyance at the close call with my tea. 

“Hey... Tom?” said a shaky, nervous voice. “Could you possibly come and pick me up from Kimmie’s apartment?”

“Sure. What’s going on? Are you okay?” I asked, a twinge of concern in my voice. 

“I’ll be fine. It’s kind of stupid, really. Kimmie and I broke up, and my car stalled out here but I was too angry to ask her for a ride home.” Eric sighed emotionally.

“Oh shit. Wow. Urm, yeah. I’ll be there soon.” 

I hung up and got up off my couch. I couldn’t believe that Eric and Kimmie had broken up. They had been dating for nearly a year, which was quite serious if you ask me. And of course he would have the luck of his car breaking down. Part of the situation was ironic, and I chuckled quietly. But I also realized that Eric had loved Kimmie and would be very heartbroken by their split. Without any further delay, I hopped in my car and began the 45 minute drive to rescue Eric.

After fighting with rush hour traffic, I arrived in the parking lot of Kimmie’s apartment. I could see Eric’s red car sitting sadly in a parking spot near the back of the lot. As for Eric himself, he had his head pressed up against the steering wheel. I couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but he looked forlorn nevertheless. I parked next to him and hopped out of the driver’s seat of my car and into the passenger seat of his. He looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot from crying and his hair was all tousled. He had fresh tear stains on his cheeks. 

“Oh, Eric.” I said sadly, offering my arms out to embrace him. 

He crumpled into my arms, his warm face resting on my shoulder and his arms around my waist. I thought that he might cry more, but instead he mumbled “Thanks Tom. You’re such a good friend.” into my shoulder. 

“What’re friends for?” I asked gently, patting him on the back. “Do you want to just come back to my place for the night? Then you could talk it out, I guess.” 

It was a simple offer of friendship, and one that Eric gladly accepted.   
We sat in silence for most of the drive back to my apartment. Occasionally Eric would sniffle and I’d glance over to see a stray tear running down his cheek. I hurt for Eric. Breakups always suck, and it seemed as though Eric was taking his split with Kimmie especially hard. I knew that I would become his source of comfort, and in that moment I wanted nothing more than to be just that. As soon as we arrived home, Eric collapsed into my arms. I held him up, supporting his weight while wrapping my arms around him tightly. 

“What happened?” I inquired sympathetically. 

“It was all just a facade. She’s a two faced bitch! She was cheating on me for the whole entire relationship, Tom. We weren’t even official for a month and she was already sleeping with someone else.”

Anger and sadness were mixed with shock as he broke down crying again. 

“Oh my god.” I muttered in disbelief. “Fucking hell, Eric. How’d you find out?” 

We broke the embrace and sat on my couch together. Eric lay in the nook of my neck, clinging to my left arm tightly. 

“I went through her phone while she was in the shower,” he explained miserably. “It’s such an asshole move, I know. But I felt like something wasn’t right. And as it turns out, there were three different guys that she was meeting up with on a regular basis. And the pictures, ugh.”

Eric looked like he was trying to repress the sight of them as he continued. “I’ll never be able to unsee those. I just feel like I was never good enough for her. She always had to find gratification somewhere else.”

I frowned at that statement. 

“Oh Eric.” I tightened my grip upon him gently. “That isn’t true. She’s just a selfish bitch.”

Eric looked perplexed for a moment as another tear rolled down his cheek. 

“But that’s the fucked up part, Tom. Even though I know who she really is now, I still think of her as the bubbly, caring girl I fell in love with to begin with. It’s so weird. It feels like she’s a whole other person. That wasn’t my Kimmie, the one I knew. It was like someone else wrote those messages. And when I confronted her with them, it seemed as though she didn’t care. Like she never fucking cared. And I actually thought I was going to marry this girl,” he sobbed.

The last statement took me by surprise. 

“You really thought she was ‘the one’, Eric?” I asked. 

“Yeah, I really did,” he admitted softly. 

“I didn’t know it was getting that serious,” I confessed, slightly surprised.

Eric nodded again, before breaking down again into a sobbing mess. I held him in my arms, and he slipped down my torso until his head was resting on my thighs. He clung to me like I was his life support, and I stroked his back gently. Who could ever cheat on Eric? He was the kindest, sweetest, funniest person I knew. I would take a bullet for him. Hell, I even love the guy. But as I stared down at the mush that was Eric, I realised another painful truth that I had been trying to repress for months. That I, Tom Phelan, did not only love my best friend. I was in love with my best friend.

 

I awoke the next morning in my bed, as per usual. It was a Sunday, which was usually a busy day at the FBE studio, but we had the day off because of Memorial Day. The only difference was that I wasn’t the only person in my bed. I rolled over to see that Eric had cuddled up to me and was breathing deeply, clearly still asleep. I smiled as I looked at him. He was so broken by the betrayal of his girlfriend, it almost sickened me. I hated seeing him like this. It was like he was an incomplete shell of a person. I lazily put my arm across his body, drawing him closer to me. He stirred slightly, but did not wake as I held him there. Soon, I began to fade back into dreamland as well, dozing off as the mid morning sun peaked through the blinds. I stirred again when I felt Eric move away from me. He was getting out of bed. 

“No, don’t leave. You’re warm,” I mumbled only half coherently. 

Eric smiled slightly. “I’ll be back. I need to pee,” he explained as he scampered off to the bathroom. 

The bed felt empty without him, but he returned as quickly as he had left and crawled back under the covers and into my arms. 

“Are you feeling better?” I asked as he got settled.

“A little. It still hurts. Bad. But hopefully I’ll be able to function today without bawling my eyes out the whole time,” he chuckled softly. 

It was good to hear him laugh, even a little bit. 

“You’re a really great friend, Tom. I can’t thank you enough for helping me and letting me be emotional.” 

“Of course, Eric. I’d be a shit best friend if I didn’t do those things for you.” 

“I guess so,” he mused. “Tom, would it be okay if I stayed here again tonight? I don’t want to be alone.” 

He looked nervous to ask to stay, but he needn’t have worried. 

“Yes, of course. I’d love to hang out.” 

I snuggled closer to him. Eric relaxed into my embrace, drawing in a shaky breath. I knew he was trying not to cry again. I kissed him on the cheek, reaffirming my presence and told him that if he needed to cry, then he should. So he did. He spent a lot of that weekend crying, and I spent a lot of the weekend soul-searching who I was and what I felt for him. But most importantly, we spent that difficult weekend together as a couple of best friends, just trying to make it through life.


	2. Hypothesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in Eric’s POV.

I hopped on the elevator at the studio and pressed a button. I was one of the reactors on a Try Not To Laugh Challenge on that particular day, and so was Mikaela. I really wanted to talk to her, just to get some friendly advice. It had been six months since my breakup with Kimmie, and I was much happier. Within time, I had grown to realise the blessing in disguise of that weekend as a whole. Finding the texts had helped me leave a toxic relationship sooner than I would’ve if I hadn’t. And, I got much closer to Tom on that weekend. Tom Phelan. My best friend. And current source of anxiety. I stepped off of the lift and walked over to Mikaela, who was laughing with Brooklin and Labib. They were also shooting that day. 

“Mikaela, can I talk to you?” I interrupted. 

“Hi Eric! Of course, what do you need, friend?” 

“Is it okay if we meet up and talk later? I’ve got some shit on my mind. We could get Starbucks...?” I asked hopefully. 

Mikaela chuckled. “I’m free later. What’s going on?” 

“I’m just having a general identity crisis which is wrapped in a deeper issue,” I said nonchalantly. 

“Oh, god. Of course we can talk later. Starbucks sounds good,” she smiled. 

“I’ll meet you there!” 

Mikaela laughed her way back to our friends. 

 

Later that day, I sat in the parking lot of Starbucks, waiting for Mikaela to pull in. I had already ordered our drinks as my treat. We had decided to sit in my car so we could converse privately. About five minutes later, I recognised her car as she pulled into a parking spot as near to me as she could manage. Soon, she was sitting in my car with me, sipping on her Grande Pink Drink with Light Ice. 

“Hey Eric. So, what’s going on?”

Of course she would be straight to the point.

“A lot is, I guess. But it’s mainly about Tom, if I’m being honest,” I said tentatively. 

“I figured that,” Mikaela mused. “What’s going on with Tom?” 

“Nothing. Everything. Ugh, I don’t know Mikaela. The weekend I broke up with Kimmie I stayed at his house. And it.... it was...amazing. It was just him and I, and we talked about all kinds of things. And we cuddled. A lot. That in and of itself isn’t really weird, but it’s how I felt about him during it. Don’t get me wrong, I was ripped up about the Kimmie thing. Badly. Tom can attest to that. But this one morning, it was just us, and we were snuggling in his bed and he was holding me in his arms and it all just felt so natural and right and I wanted it to be more. And over the last three months, we’ve hung out so much, and as I started feeling better the feelings for him got stronger and stronger. And I’m fucking confused because I thought I was straight my whole life.  
I’ve never had feelings for a guy before.” 

I stopped to breathe. Mikaela didn’t really seem surprised. I knew that she was intuitive about people, which is why I asked her for advice. 

“Are you sure that you aren’t just overanalysing this, Eric?” Mikaela asked. “It’s not like you have to decide your sexuality at any given point in your life.” 

“I guess you’re right. But it’s Tom, Mikaela. He’s my best friend. The one person I don’t want to have feelings for. It’ll get too complicated if he finds out. He’s straight, Mikaela. He would never feel the same way.” 

“Are you 100% sure of that, Eric?” Mikaela asked. 

I mulled over that idea for a couple seconds. 

“I doubt it. We are pretty touchy with each other, but it isn’t a romantic thing. We’re just close friends. He’s never talked about men being attractive. Or women, for that matter.” 

“Ugh, don’t you see?” Mikaela laughed in frustration. “The guy isn’t super open about his love life, and there’s no way you can really tell what his preference is. And Eric, you have to remember that I’m the first person you’ve talked to about this change in your sexuality, and you’ve been riding this train for six months. Who knows about Tom? My point is that he will love you no matter what. You’ve been best friends for four years now. You really need to relax.” 

Mikaela was right. 

“I guess you’re... not wrong,” I admitted. 

“Honestly, Eric, I think he has feelings for you too,” she began.

I snapped my head up in surprise, causing Mikaela to divert course. 

“Now, I don’t know this for sure because he hasn’t said anything to me, but he sometimes acts like he’s practically in love with you, Eric.”

“You really think so?” I wondered, trying to remember any past instances that would encourage this theory. 

“Yes. You two have been dancing around each other since you and Kimmie broke up. Why don’t you just ask him to hang out and see how your dynamic flows? Consider it a scientific study and report back to me later,” she half-joked.

We both laughed and I replied, “Okay Mikaela. I’ll do it. But if this scientific study goes bust, I’m blaming you.” 

She chuckled. “I will gladly take the blame for when you two start dating, Eric.” 

“Wow. You went there,” I gasped in mock offence. 

The mood turned light hearted again. 

“Thanks for all this, Mikaela,” I smiled at her with gratitude. 

“What are friends for?” She replied innocently. 

That wasn’t the first time I heard that phrase. I hoped it wouldn’t be the last.


	3. Materials

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is from Toms POV.

I was rummaging through my fridge to find leftover spaghetti when I got a call. It was Eric. I hoped nothing was wrong. 

“Hey Eric,” I answered cheerfully.

“Hi Tom. How’s life?” He asked casually. 

“Life’s great. I’m attempting to find leftovers in the back of my fridge,” I explained, chuckling to myself.

“Good luck,” he paused slightly. “Hey, are you busy tonight?” 

“No, why?” 

“Because I’m bored and have no social life and I decided to call to see if you wanted to hang out tonight? I could bring Chinese food over and you could stop your pointless leftover quest.” 

I thought about his proposition. I missed Eric. We hadn’t been able to hang out as much as I would’ve liked. 

“Yeah, that sounds great. It’ll be nice to spend some time together,” I accepted.

“Great. See you in 40.”

And Eric hung up. I suddenly felt nervous. There wasn’t a need to, I suppose, but I subconsciously knew that I couldn’t keep my stupid little crush hidden forever, and that was terrifying to me. I knew that there wasn’t much of a chance that Eric would reciprocate my feelings. That wasn’t what scared me. The idea that Eric might hate me for feeling affectionate toward him is what truly gave me anxiety. I couldn’t lose my best friend over something this small, this...futile. My feelings didn’t matter in the long run. I could be content with staying friends, even though all I wanted to do was hold him in my arms and kiss his beautiful face. C’mon Tom. Snap out of it, I told myself as I attempted to tidy my slightly messy apartment.

A half hour later, I heard a knock on my door. Eric had arrived. 

“Hiya friendo!” he exclaimed with a youthful exuberance.

He held up Panda Express in white plastic bag and I opened the door for him, inviting him in. 

“How are you?” I returned, shutting the door. 

He set the Chinese food on the counter. 

“I made it here without getting into a car accident, so relatively good.”

I chuckled and he grinned back at me. 

“So what’re we gonna do?” I asked as he opened a container of orange chicken. 

“I thought we could just chat, maybe play some games. I don’t know,” he shrugged as I bit into an egg roll.

“Okay, that sounds good,” I said through a mouthful of food.

We ate, talking about work, life and old memories. It felt nice to talk to Eric alone. No distractions, just him and I, both giving one another our undivided attention. 

“Do you remember when we first met?” He asked out of nowhere.

Well that was a random question. 

“Yeah, I do. I was walking into the studio to do my shoot, and you were just getting ready to leave. I introduced myself to you.” 

“Yeah, you did. I remember feeling super awkward. I was so shy back then, and you were so confident in yourself,” Eric seemingly thought out loud. 

“Now look at you,” I smiled. “Look at us. We’re best friends.” 

Eric gave me a toothy smile. I searched his eyes for any kind of hint. Any kind of hint that ‘best friends’ wasn’t a satisfactory enough label for him. I saw doubt and nervousness clouding his eyes, and confusion. I wondered to myself what that meant and decided to throw away my plate, as I had finished all my food. So, I got up and began to walk over to my trashcan. Eric apparently also decided to throw his plate away, because he turned around at the same time I did. We collided and Eric sent me toppling to the floor. 

“Ahhh!” Eric screeched as gravity overtook and we both fell to the ground. I braced for impact and felt the frame of my body collide with the laminate floor. Eric had his arms around my waist, desperately trying to cling onto something but to no avail. I expected us to burst into uncontrollable laughter as soon we recovered, but it never happened. As soon as we both settled into a lifeless lump in the floor, we both went dead quiet. Eric had me pinned to the ground, but I didn’t struggle to break free. Instead, I looked up into his eyes. I felt as though he was staring into my soul for those few seconds. I watched him search my eyes confusedly for something. He still had the same pensive look on his face, but about what? Time seemed to stop as we both looked into one another’s eyes. I wanted nothing more in that moment except to attack his lips with mine, but I refrained until I noticed that Eric was leaning into my lips. Was he going to kiss me? Wait, what was happening? I was paralysed in one place. I waited for his lips to meet mine, but it never happened. He stopped his rapid descent toward my mouth and got off of me very quickly. He seemed a bit shook up and let out a nervous laugh. 

“Well, that happened,” he said in an affected voice.

I heard him swallow nervously, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. I got off the floor. I tried to laugh it off, but I was having trouble doing so. What the fuck was happening? I felt more confused than anything after that. Eric looked like he wanted to kiss me. He almost did. But why? He was straight as far as I knew. I repressed it and decided to move on for the evening. Eric seemed to move on also, and we decided to watch a movie. Instead of curling up together and laughing at some stupid comedy, we maintained our distance from one another on the couch. Why did that klutzy fall have to make things so awkward? I turned my attention back to the movie only to have the picture freeze. I glanced over at Eric. He had paused the film. He started speaking in a shaky voice and said five fateful words. 

“Tom, we need to talk.”


	4. Procedure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Eric’s POV.

I sat on Tom’s couch, attempting to focus on the movie playing in front of me. It was a futile attempt. All I could think was “Wow Eric. Way to almost kiss your crush and chicken out at the last minute.” I had spent the entire evening confused by the mixed signals I was receiving from Tom. He enjoyed my company, I knew that much. But Mikaela was right. There were times when he looked so infatuated with me I could barely stand it. But on the flip side, it didn’t seem like he was too nervous or lovesick around me. My scientific study wasn’t churning out any consistent results. And then... the fall happened. Of course destiny would have it that I, Eric Beckerman, would topple onto my best friend/crush, and then royally fuck things up by being indecisive. I should’ve never even entertained the thought of kissing him, but once I was in the situation of being five inches from his face, I couldn’t really help myself. I had been dreaming of that moment for months: the moment when I would pull him in and connect all the dots through one simple kiss, adrenaline and excitement rushing through me. Plus, his brown eyes were staring up into mine, almost inviting me in. I had begun the slow dive into the water where his lips would meet mine when something stopped me. The fear of rejection. What if I was just imagining his interest for me in my head? I couldn’t bear the thought of him hating me. So I stopped and collected myself and tried to move on. The only problem was that I knew that he knew that I was going to kiss him, and everything became awkward and forced. So, there I was, sitting on Tom’s couch three feet away from him, a polarising distance. I couldn’t take the sexual tension anymore and fished through the blankets. Once I found the remote, I paused the movie. I wasn’t quite sure what to say. 

“Tom, we need to talk,” I said nervously. 

Here goes.

He looked over at me. He too seemed nervous, like all this tension was destroying his confidence as well.

“Yeah, we do. We really do,” he said softly. 

There was an awkward silence.

“I’m sorry, Tom. I’ve made everything weird. Between us,” I apologised hesitantly, before looking down at my hands. 

Tom fidgeted. He looked down at his feet and made a confused expression before looking up. He stared me straight in the eye. 

“Were you going to kiss me?” He asked bluntly. 

I tried to figure out what was happening in his mind. The only emotion I could detect was confusion- like he didn’t know what the hell had happened. 

“Yes,” I replied simply. “Yes I was.” 

This apparently didn’t help Tom at all. He only looked more confused. 

“This is all too much,” he sighed, partially to himself. “That means... I don’t...” 

I interrupted him, deciding to spill all since it was implied anyways. 

“That means that I am very attracted to you, Thomas Phelan,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. 

Tom looked overwhelmed. “Oh, goddamnit, Eric! I feel the same way about you,” he spouted. 

“Really?” I replied. 

“Ugh, of course I do. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time,” he said, looking me in the eye.

This time, I saw nothing but pure joy and love radiating from his eyes. 

“But you’re into girls,” I countered. 

“And I’m into guys too. It’s just not something I care to tell people. It isn’t important,” he replied. 

...It might be a bit important, Tom...

“...but you. I thought you were straight,” he continued. 

I scooted across the couch to his open embrace. 

“So did I,” I chuckled as he hugged me. “But after the Kimmie ordeal, I don’t know. I just couldn’t stop thinking about you and how natural and right it felt when we were cuddling in your bed that Sunday morning. I was a wreck, I know. But deep down, I wished that every morning were like that. And that got to me. A lot. I knew that when I started noticing how attractive you were physically I was too far gone to turn back.” 

Tom laughed quietly. “So you think I’m hot?” He asked, quite amused. 

“I think you’re gorgeous,” I whispered into his neck. 

Tom shuddered a bit under my breath. I giggled at his reaction.

“Do you think that’s sexy?” I asked, a hint of laughter in my mouth. 

“Oh, shut up and kiss me,” he countered.

So I did. I dove right down into the waters I had avoided earlier. I leaned into his lips and he leaned into mine. They met. Instantly I felt chills run through my body as my senses overloaded. We began slowly, trying to find a rhythm with one another. His lips felt soft and wet against my mouth, tugging at me gently, pulling me in. Suddenly, he pulled me on top of him so that I was sitting on his lap. I could feel his pulse racing as I put my hands to his face. He squealed in delight and surprise when I slipped my tongue into his mouth to explore new depths. Before I knew it, he was pinning me down on the couch. He ran his hands up my torso underneath my shirt, causing a shiver of pleasure to run down my spine. He had me exactly how he wanted me and he was loving it. I couldn’t seem to get enough, either. Making out with Tom was ten times better than I had even imagined, and I kept asking for more and he kept giving. I could feel my stomach tying into knots from the amount of euphoria I was experiencing and I surprised myself by letting out a small whimper against Tom’s mouth. I could feel every inch of his body on top of mine- a hot sweaty mess of two people who had been wanting to do these things to one another for so long. I was breathless, not only from the passionate kissing, but also from the sheer awe I was in of how natural it felt: to touch him, to satisfy him, to need him. I didn’t need to think;I just needed  
to enjoy. I needed to savour the moment, because moments like those only happen every so often. Moments of perfect ecstasy. 

 

The next morning was my own personal heaven. I had stayed the night, just as friends-turned-lovers often do, and I woke up in the one place I’d been wanting to be since the breakup: Tom’s arms. The sun was just beginning its rise over the city skyline at 5AM. It was early, but I liked mornings. The peacefulness of dawn made me feel calm. No other people, and no distractions. Just me and the chirping of birds and the dripping of coffee and the subdued rush of traffic as I prepared for the chaos ahead of me. But this time it was different, because this time I wanted to share all of that with Tom too. I shifted my position on the mattress and cranes my neck to gaze at Tom, who was still asleep. I stared at his goofy little hair flip that was now flat against the pillow, and moved my gaze downward to look at his face, which had a serene, happy looked plastered onto it, even while he slept. His arms were snakes around me, similar to how they were the first time we cuddled. This time, though, it meant so much more. I didn’t want to disturb him, but I really needed water and a bathroom, so I moved as slyly as possible to get out of bed. It didn’t work.

“Eric...where are you going...” he mumbled into the pillow, still have asleep. 

“I’m going to get some water,” I replied softly. 

I walked into the kitchen and found a glass, before running the tap and pitter-pattering back into Tom’s room. He was fully awake now and he gave me a lazy smile as I crawled back underneath the haven of covers. 

“Good morning,” I whispered.

“Good morning,” he replied, a telling grin on his face. “How are you?” 

I smirked. “Amazing. And you?” 

He looked almost reminiscent.

“I’m really happy,” he admitted, squeezing me lightly. 

That really made me smile. 

“Good. I’m glad. I’m glad last night happened,” I said. 

“Me too.” 

We laid there for some period of time. For how long I don’t really know. We were both content to simple cuddle and bask in the slowly rising sun, until Tom asked me a question. 

“What does this mean for us?” 

I ticked my tongue in thought. What did it mean? Were we dating now? Were we like those couples who were friends but weren’t really?

“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. “What I do know is that I really like you. A lot. And that shouldn’t be taken lightly. I would love to be your partner and become an official couple to the world, but it is totally up to you.”

“You know, I’ve never really liked labels. The whole idea of boyfriends and girlfriends and going out have always put me off. I feel like it’s such a shallow term or idea for something so beautiful that can be shared between two people. But of course I want us to be together, and I want to tell people about it. It’s too good not to.” 

“I agree,” I mused, putting my arm around his torso. “I’ll be your man friend instead of your boyfriend.”

Tom chuckled at my joke, and I smiled in return. As we cuddled that morning, I realised that my science experiment had turned out pretty damn well.


	5. Results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Eric’s POV

I texted Mikaela as I stood in Tom’s kitchen, waiting for my toast to pop up.

Eric: hey stranger

Mikaela: hi Eric what’s good :P

Eric: everything :D

Mikaela: how was ur science experiment ;)

Eric: I’m still at Tom’s ;)

Mikaela: TELL

Eric: no u have 2 wait. Meet me @ SB @ noon 4 d3tAiLs ;) :P

Mikaela: lol okay

Eric: :)

I smiled as I looked up from my phone screen. Mikaela was gonna flip shit. I giggled to myself. I would have to put all the blame on her for getting me involved with Tom. Well, mostly. Speaking of Tom, he walked in just then, freshly showered.

“What’re you having for breakfast?” He asked as he walked to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. 

“Peanut butter toast,” I replied.

“Yummy.” 

My toast popped up and I used a knife to slather the creamy peanut butter across its surface. 

“So, what are you doing today?” Tom asked as he stood on his tip toes to get the cereal down from the top cabinet. 

“Well, I’m meeting up with Mikaela at Starbucks because she wants the scoop on our relationship status, and then I’m going home.”

Tom laughed. “Of course Mikaela is freaking out about it.” 

I shrugged. “I think she noticed that we both liked each other.” 

He nodded in agreement. “She notices everything like that.” 

 

We ate our breakfasts, chatting about random shit just like usual. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already 11AM. 

“Hey, Tom?” I yelled across the apartment.

“Yeah?” He replied.

“I’m going to have to head out if I’m going to be on time to the meeting with Mikaela.” 

Tom walked into the room and gave me a huge grin. 

“See you later, Eric,” he mumbled in my ear as he hugged me. 

“See you later, Tom,” I said.

I kissed him lightly before pulling away. 

“Hey, I love you,” I declared with reassurance.

“Love you too.” 

I walked out of his apartment, car keys in hand.

 

Mikaela was already at Starbucks when I pulled in, and we walked in to order together. But as was our custom, we both walked back out to my car and sat inside of it to discuss the details. 

“Oh my god, Eric, I have been in suspense all morning over this Tom business. What happened?” She asked almost immediately.

I laughed. “Should I start at the beginning?” 

“Yes! I want all the tea, bitch,” she said excitedly.

I giggled and took a sip of my Vanilla Latte before continuing.

“Okay, so I picked up some Panda Express because Chinese food is delicious, and then I drove to Tom’s. We ate dinner and he seemed a little nervous, I guess. I don’t know... it was weird. Anyway, we talked about a lot of old memories and shit which made us both really reminiscent. I think it both went to our heads a bit.”

Mikaela snorted.

“Anyways. So while I was there I was doing my little scientific study, but it was really hard to tell.” 

“Oh?” 

“He would give me all kinds of mixed signals. Like there were points where we were lowkey flirting and other times where he seemed super distant and unresponsive. I don’t know. I think it’s hard to actively look for shit like that in people because humans are so complex in the way they express emotions.” 

Mikaela hummed in agreement.

“But do you want to know what let the cat out of the bag?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

“What?” 

“We both fell and I landed on top of him.” 

“AHAHAHAHAHA! You LITERALLY fell for each other,” she laughed, clapping her hands together to emphasise her point. 

I cracked up. “Yeah, we did. But anyways, it got really awkward because we both wanted to kiss one another in that moment but couldn’t so it was this weird, intense eye contact for like four seconds until I ACTUALLY ALMOST KISSED HIM LIKE AN IDIOT before climbing off of him. We were both shaken because we were both aware of the sexual tension that occurred in that fraction of a second.”

Mikaela facepalmed. “This is something I should’ve seen coming, to be honest.” 

“Me too. So we decided to watch a movie, which neither of us were even paying attention to because we were both having inner panic attacks about the falling incident. I got annoyed with the awkwardness so I paused the movie and told him that we needed to talk.” 

“Oh lord.” 

“Anyways, he asked me straight out if I had been intending to kiss him and I said yes. He looked really overwhelmed. Later he told me that he’d had feelings for me for over a year, and that everything was too good to be true for him.”

“Awwwww, Tom!” She squeaked, interrupting me. “He is so sweet.” 

“Shush!” I said in faux annoyance. “So we both confessed our feelings and it was literally the happiest moment of my entire life. And then we made out on his couch.”

Mikaela squealed. “ERIC! I swear to god, that is all you boys think about.” 

I laughed, deciding to tease her. “True. It was SOOOO amazing though. You have to remember, Mikaela, that I’ve been envisioning this scenario in my head for MONTHS. It was REALLY hot and we both made so many questionable noises-“

“Ew, okay, you can stop now. TMI,” Mikaela commented. 

“Hey, you asked for it,” I countered, laughing.

“Guess I can’t argue with that,” she admitted. 

“Anyways, when we finished attacking one another’s mouths, we baked some pastries and ate them before going to bed together, which was honestly the best part of the whole thing.” 

“Baking, or sleeping next to Tom?” She asked. 

“Cuddling,” I replied. “I just felt so warm and safe and happy and we woke up next to one another and had breakfast together and just did all these cute couple-y things. Which by the way, we are a couple now.” 

Mikaela smiled at me and patted my shoulder. “I’m really happy for you guys, Eric. And to think that you thought the science experiment would go bust.” 

“I am too.” 

We smiled at one another. 

“Hey, Mikaela, now that I’m with Tom, we can work on getting you and Labib together,” I winked. 

“Oh, shut up!”


	6. Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Toms POV

It’d been six months. The happiest six months of my life. The six months where I had officially been with Eric Beckerman. The holiday season was in full swing, so I decided to throw a little Christmas get together. Eric, Brandon, Tori, Labib, Mikaela, and Brooklin all came over to my apartment to have some pizza, hot cocoa, and a good time. Everyone was sat around my living room, making conversation passively. Brandon was on the floor next to my shitty artificial tree, telling one of his signature meme-y jokes to us while Tori checked her phone and Brooklin munched on chips. Labib and Mikaela sat on the couch opposite from Eric and I, clearly in their own world but also still “ just friends”. I didn’t buy it for a second, but that was their business, not mine. My business just happened to be sitting next to me, his arm wrapped around me lazily. He turned to face me and I gave him a smile. And that’s when I realised. I realised how truly happy I was. I had all of my friends who loved me, I had a great job which supported me and interested me, and I had Eric.   
That’s all I’d ever really wanted anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed leave a kudos and a comment!  
> Much love, Hannah.


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